We watched in horror on Jan. 6, as the nation’s Capitol was breached by white terrorists on the behest of the president of the United States of America. These terrorists broke down doors, attacked Capitol Police, killing one officer by…
Nature Rambles | Frost in bloom
For anyone who lives for the delicate splendor of flowers, winter can seem like a bleak landscape. A period of stillness before the spring breaks across the landscape with blooming things. However, if you pay attention to the winter landscape,…
Inland Art | Story Stitchers
Like the majority of the Inland columns, this is a story about prairie culture, specifically contemporary culture in one Midwestern city. This month it’s about collective action in St. Louis, and it’s about stitching. For decades representation of the prairie…
Art and Justice | How African American artists address the environment
Juarez Hawkins, Chicago artist, daughter of an artist and art instructor at Chicago State University, explores the role of African American art and its focus on environmental justice at a zoom lecture Feb. 11 hosted by the Fine Arts Society…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Reasons for a Dividend-Based Carbon Tax, Part 3: Heat that Kills
Kim Stanley Robinson opens his climate fiction opus, “The Ministry for the Future,” in the year 2025 with a brutal heat wave spreading across India. Heat and humidity approach the survival limit for humans. Then, the grid goes down across…
Reflections from an Existential Lens | Religion, Secularism and Life-Meaning, Part I
I have a friend of a friend who is Christian and interested in abstract theological questions. When we first met, he knew both that I was non-religious and that I know about religious arguments. Yet when I met him and…
Inclusion and A Tale of Two Cities
The population of Peoria is similar to the population of Lawrence, Kan., but one community is shrinking while the other is growing. One community has a more diverse population but less intentional discussion of equity and inclusion. The other predominantly…
Reflections From The Clergy | Division
We live in a time of partisan and ethnic divide. The causes of this negative phenomena are countless and they cause immeasurable distress in society. Sometimes, the ethnic divide or racism that we harbor is based on our natural biases…
West Peoria News | Budget talks on tap
The consolidated election for the upcoming City of West Peoria is April 6. Running for four-year terms are: Ward 1, Leroy Dohm; Ward 2, Merlin “Rocky” Merlinson; Ward 3, John Siewert and Clark Abraham; and Ward 4, James Silver. February…
Labor Roundup | February 2021
Organized labor blamed Donald Trump for the violent insurrection on Jan. 6 that saw hundreds of white nationalist domestic terrorists overrun the U.S. Capitol. Union leaders, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and particularly National Nurses United Executive Director Bonnie Castillo,…
When Justice Becomes Injustice
Lester Mason is the victim of what many now consider an ill-conceived and racist “three strikes and you’re out law” that almost exclusively targets Black men. He was released from prison the day before Thanksgiving after an incarceration of nearly…
Community leaders say trust the science, get vaccinated
Trust is in short supply in America today. Our trust has been betrayed historically dating back to the founding of the country and betrayed recently by government policies that do not serve the best interest of all Americans. Now we…
Not socialized medicine: “just common sense”
Brooke Sommerville gave birth to three children in Peoria. Then her husband, professional basketball player Marcellus Sommerville, was recruited to play professionally in France. The family moved to France, and Brooke didn’t know what to expect when she became pregnant…
The Lion’s Den | The Doctor’s Appointment
Now that we have entered into 2021, we know that there are vaccines available to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, there is skepticism surrounding the vaccines’ rollout, particularly among groups of color. This skepticism stems from a long history…
Straight Talk | Weaver out for mayor, but why?
State Senator Chuck Weaver months ago announced he was not going to seek re-election. A regular guest on our morning show on FM 90.7, Weaver said he had other options to explore in which he could serve the public. Some…
Bill Knight | ‘The big get bigger, and the small will go out’
Winter’s when farmers and farm communities think, plan and remember. In the cold of 2021, who’ll recall Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, in 2019 inadvertently conceding at a World Dairy Expo, “In America, the big get bigger, and the small will…
Editorial | Climate racism, food insecurity, election falsehoods, anti-vaxxers
We now live in the era of “alternative facts,” a term coined by Trump supporter Kellyanne Conway to try to justify lies. Predictably, “alternative facts” invariably favor wealthy, secure, privileged people who fail to recognize the limits of their own…
The Watch | Local taxes in 2021
The dreadful 2020 is over. The dreadful pandemic is not. And the dreaded bills keep coming in. On Nov. 10, Peoria City Council members wrestled with some truly appalling numbers. In part, that’s because the 2021 budget anticipated passage of…
Nature Rambles | The Sounds of Silence
It can really be hard to be optimistic during a global pandemic that has stretched on for over nine months. However, as I’ve written in previous columns, we continue to see people taking the opportunity to take this time to…
Reflections From A Hindu Perspective | A lesson from the Tribals in western India
Last month, I had the good fortune of surviving a stroke. Although it is devastating at any age, it was especially hard at the age of 50. After spending the first week in the hospital pondering “why me?” I came…
UnityPoint Health increases minimum pay
The minimum hourly pay rate at UnityPoint Health is increasing to $15 an hour in January in a move that will impact 33% of the health system’s 30,000 employees. “Our feet are firmly rooted in our mission — to improve…
Inland Art | Oscar Gillespie
Oscar Gillespie is the consummate picture maker. He’s recognized as one of the most inventive and technically fluent artists in academia, a leader in the discipline of engraving in which he’s exhibited and conducted workshops for over 30 years. One…